Mail-bag catching and delivery device.



PATENTED APR: 7, 1903.

No. 724,673. J

MD. CUMMINGS. MAIL BAG GATGHING AND DELIVERY DEVICE APPLICATION FILEDJUNE 26, 1902.

a sums-sum 1- HOMODEL.

I PIG.1.

No. 724,673. v PATENTBD APR. 7.190s.- M. D. CUMMINGS.

MAIL BAG GATGHING AND DELIVERY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2s, 1902. ad MODEL.

FIGA.

PATENTED APR 7, 1903.

No. 724,673. v

' M. D. CUMMINGS.

MAIL BAG OATGHING AND DELIVERY DEVI-GE.

APPLIOATION rmm was 20. 19.02. 4 I0 MODEL. a sums-sum a.

VPIG.13.

' fr G; 14. x

5 Moms Prmmoo. mo-rduruo. wisumamw a c UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

MONTRA V ILL D. CUMMINGS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

MAlL-BAG CATCHING AND DELlVE RY DEVICE.

LPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,673, dated April'7, 1903.

Application filed June 26, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MONTRAVILL D. CUM- MINGs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-BagCatching and Delivery Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to mail-bag catching and delivery devices forrailway use.

The object of the invention is to produce a safe, effective, andreliable mechanism by which the mail-clerk on a postal car may suspend apouch of mail from a crane carried bythe car and a postal employee maysuspend a pouch from a crane alongside the track and the pouches will bedelivered to and from the moving car as the car passes.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of elementswhich constitute the mail-pouch crane and the operating mechanismtherefor; also, in the construction of the mail-pouch support at theside of the track, so that these parts cooperate, as will be stated;also, in various improvements in the mechanical elements andcombinations which go to make up the working apparatus.

Figure 1 is a broken perspective of the side of a railway-car, showingmail-bag supported by car-crane and showing also the track-crane ormail-bag receiver and supporter at the side of the track. Fig. 2 is apartial elevation and partial section of the car-crane and its brace andhandle. Fig. 3 is a broken top plan of the car-crane. Fig. 4 is an endor alongthe-track View of the track-crane or mailpouch catcher andsupporter at the side of the track. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view ofbasket or crib and support. Fig. 6 is a broken side elevation of thetrack-crane post with section of basket-supporting sleeve, showing alsothe brake. Fig. 7 is a rear view of the basket or crib supporting sleeveand brackets. Figs. 8 and 9 are elevations of the bagsupport clamp ordouble hooks at the end of the car-crane, the figures being partly insection. Fig. 10 is a plan, partly in section, of the car-crane arm andconnections. Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a brace to be described.Fig. 12 is aperspective of a flexible frame or bag-support. Fig. 13 is across-section showing track-crane brake. Fig. 14 is fierial No. 113,361.(No model.)

a viewof the track-crane and attachments from the side toward the rail.

. Referring first to the crane structure connected to the car, let 1indicate the car, which moves along a track, as usual. At each side ofthe car-door there is a bracket 2, secured to the outside of the car andhaving perfo rated lugs 3 3, through which lugs the pivotpin 4. of thecrane may pass. The crane-arm has a T-shaped sleeve 5, the cross-arm 6of which rests between the perforated lugs 3 3 when the arm is in place,the pivot-pin 4 passing through this cross-arm to hold the crane inplace. A spring 7 surrounds cross-arm 6 and has a loop 8, which extendsoutside the crane-bar 5. The ends of the spring 7 bear against bracket2, and the spring thus has a tendency to swing the crane-arm toward theside of the car by reason of thisloop of the spring bearing inwardly onthe outer side of the crane-arm.

The outer end of the crane-arm 5 has a knuckle 10, to which brace 11 ispivoted, for a purpose to be stated. The crane-arm has an extension 12,which telescopes inside the sleeve 5 and is held in any adjustedposition by set-screw 13. The outer end of this extension or bar 12 hasa hook 14, attached to a sleeve 28, which is swiveled on the extensionor bar 12, so as to be free to rotate on said bar. The front end of bar12, on which sleeve 28 swivels, is preferably bent, so that when thecrane is braced outward the sleeve 28 is about parallel with the side ofthe car. A hook 15 is pivoted to the sleeve 28. This hook 15 is dividedand hasa member at each side of the body of hook 14:. The two hookmembers 15 unite and have a lever extension 16. The top bar of abag-support extends through hook 14 when the device is in use, and byturning lever 16 to the position shown in Fig. 9 and in dotted lines,Fig. 2, the bagsupport is clamped between the jaws of the two hooks. Theweight of the bag holds hook 14 below the crane and tends to slide thebagsupport down the inclined face of hook 1 L and cause it to bearagainst the two members of hook 15, so as to hold that book in position.At the same time the two members of the hook l5, acting with hook 14:,will hold the bag-support from twisting should the wind blow against thebag.

Across the door of the car are parallel'bars 20. One of these bars hasahook or horn 21, projecting inwardly and inclined in one direction,while the other bar has a hook or horn 22, inclined in the otherdirection. The brace 11 extends between these parallel bars and isguided thereby. The brace 11 has a head or bent arm 24. This head servesas a handle by which the mail-clerk can operate the crane from insidethe car and hold the crane projected, or the head, arm, and handle canbe swung into the recess formed by horn 22, and the pressure of spring 7will then hold the crane-arm in such position, as shown in Fig. 1, thebrace 11 then retaining the crane in its projected position against thepressure of the spring. Then a pressure against brace 11, which throwsthe head of said brace out of the grasp of the horn, will permit thespring 7 to swing the crane-arm inward against the side of the car andagainst the parallel bars 20. Thus the brace 11 may be used to make thecar-crane automatic, or it may be manipulated by hand.

The preferred form of mail-bag support is a flexible frame consisting oftwo bars 30, connected at their ends by short chains 31. One bar 30, asshown in Fig. 1, may pass through and be grasped by hooks 1415, whilethe mail-pouch is fastened to the other bar in any suitable way, as bystraps or by tying thereto. \Vhen applied as in Fig. 1, the mail-pouchwill then be supported from the crane, but the open flexible frame willintervene, and this frame will have its upper member held againsttwisting orswinging by the engagement of hooks 14 15. The bag beingsuspended as shown in Fig. 1, let us suppose that the lever 16encounters an obstruction. The lever will thereby be swung down, thehooks disengaged, and the bagsupport and bag will be dropped. When thecar is to move in the other direction from that indicated in Fig. 1, thepin 4 can be withdrawn, the crane-arm moved to the other bracket withoutremoving the brace 11 from between bars 20, and the crane-arm can thenbe attached by the pivot to the other bracket, the arm of head 24 thenturning downward. The brace 11 will now engage horn 22 to hold the craneoutward,"and in other respects the operation will be the converse ofthat heretofore described. The sleeve 28 being free to rotate on thecrane-arm will have its hook 14 below said crane-arm in all normalpositions.

I will now refer to the crib or basket alongside the track and the cranewhich supports the mail-pouch in position to be taken up by theadvancing car.

Let 40 indicate an upright post, preferably of metal, which standsalongside the track. To this post a sleeve 41 is swiveled, so that itmay turn on the post with more or less resistance as controlled by afriction device.

42 indicates a set-screw, which passes through sleeve 41 and bears on abrake-shoe 48, which shoe in turn bears on post 40. The set-screw can beso adjusted as to give any desirable amount of friction, and thus thebasket is held against turning by wind-pressure or train suction, butmay turn under the impulse of a bag from the car-crane. Sleeve 41 hasbracket-arms 44 rigid therewith, which support the bracket or crib intowhich the mail-pouch is delivered. Crib 45 is an openended trough whichmay have only one upright side and is composed of slats supported onsleeve 41 and the brackets 44, so that the crib can be swung around withthe sleeve. The length of the crib and the distance from the track issuch that the corner of the crib will not strike the car. When amail-pouch is dropped into a crib from a car-crane, the momentum of thebag may swing the crib and sleeve around on the supporting-post, thustransforming the forward movement of the pouch into a swinging movementof the crib. The bag will naturally seek that side of the crib towardthe track as the crane swings.

A rectangular frame 46 is pivoted at one side in the top bars of crib 45and at the other side to lug 59 on sleeve 41. This frame supports achain net 47, the net being slack in the frame. The frame is set for usein inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1, the end of the frame towardwhich the car approaches being elevated and held to the crib bya hook 49or in other suitable manner. The net 47 when set in this inclinedposition is in front of the mail-pouch carried by the car-crane andreceives the pouch as it advances. The frame 46 will furnish obstructionto the lever 16, and thus trip this lever and turn hook 15, thuspermitting the pouch and its attached support to fall from the hook14into the crib under the net. The lever 16 is turned back by engagementwith the top bar of the frame 46 and will then ride over the top of thisframe or will swing said frame and crib, the same swiveling on post 40.The turning of the track-crane is assisted by the momentum of themail-pouch, and the bag attached to the track-crane may be started bythe impulse of the bag from the car-crane, which bag moves with greatmomentum and is caught under the chain net and prevented frotn'leavingthe crib. When the car advances from the other direction from that shownin Fig. 1, the crane 4G and its net will have the reverse end elevatedand the relation of parts is maintained. The car-crane projects from thecar at such elevation as to pass above the crib and in such position asto enter the mail-bag frame or support 30, which support is suspended,as will be described. The track-crane has a bent arm or gooseneck 50,swiveled in the upper part of sleeve 41 and forked at its upperhorizontal end 51. The mail-pouch to be taken up by the passing car issuspended from the track-crane by the flexible frame 30 31. The top barof this frame is connected to the link sides by loops, and these loopsof the upper part of the mail-bag support rest Its on top of bars 51 ofthe track-crane, the vertical parts or links 31 of said support passingdown between said bars. The mail-bag support or flexible frame 30 31 hasits top and bottom bars 30 substantially rigid and the connecting sides31 composed of links. This support can only be suspended in one way fromthe parallel bars 51 of the gooseneck 50, and that is by passing thevertical side links 31 between said parallel bars, leaving one bar 30above the gooseneck and the other bar 30 below the gooseneck.

To prevent the gooseneck or mail-bag from swingingby the force of windor from other cause, a rod 60, having a hook 61 at one end, is hookedinto the eye 63 at the upper end of the chain-frame, and the other endof this rod has a spring-clasp 62, which embraces the linked side 31 ofthe mail-bag support. The bag and support are thus braced againstturning or twisting. The holding of the bag in such manner also preventsthe gooseneck 50 from turning until the mail-bag support on saidgooseneck is picked up by the carcrane, when said gooseneck will swingin sleeve 41 in the direction of the movement of the train and thebag-support will slip out of the open-ended slot between the parallelbars 51 of the gooseneck 50.

The brake-shoe 48 may be held with more or less pressure against post40, as regulated by screw 42. I

When the car reaches the track-crane, the front end of the car-craneenters the flexible frame 30 31. Theforward movement of the car carriesthe front end of the car-crane through the open frame forming thebag-support, and the side of this ring or frame striking brace 11 throwsthe inner end of the brace backward out of the grasp of the horn 21, ifthe car-crane is set for the automatic action. The spring 7 instantlyswings the car-crane inward, carrying the bag-support with it, thebag-support sliding out at the open end of the bars 51. The track-crane5O at'the same time swings, so that the open end of the bars is nearlyin the direction toward which the car is moving. The bag and supporthaving been swung inward toward the door of the car by the swinging ofthe crane-arm will be held suspended in front of the car-door untilremoved by the mail-clerk in the car. The

' bag dropped from the car-crane will stay in direction.

the net or crib of the track-crane until removed therefrom.

It should be understood from the foregoing that the postal agent at thestation or beside the track suspends a mail-pouch from the track-craneand adjusts the net under said pouch with its face in the direction toreceive the incoming mail-pouch and with the opening in the bag-supportalso facing in the same The mail-clerk on an approaching car suspends abag and its ring or frame from the car-crane, which is held or adjustedas to length and outward projection so as to enter the ring or framebag-support on the track-crane. The mail-sack from the carcrane enteringwith considerable velocity under the chain net raises the slack of suchnet against the bag suspended over it, and the momentum of the movingbag thus serves in part to overcome the inertia of the bag suspendedfrom the track-crane. The entry of the car-crane into the flexiblebag-support 30 31 distorts the latter, but the flexible sides 31 permitthe temporary change of form without injury. The further momentum of thebag from the car-craneis overcome in swinging the crib or basket aroundabout the central post 40. The brake may be adjusted to regulate theresistance of the crib in turning.

A ladder 65 may be connected to the trackcrane for convenience insuspending the mail-bag.

I do not as a rule confine myself to the specific and preciseconstruction of the parts, as the same may be varied by skilledmechanics .without further invention or experiment, so long as thegeneral principles involved in the claims are embodied in the structureor device.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a car-bracket, of a T-shapedsleeve and a pivot connecting said sleeve to the bracket, a telescopicextension entering said sleeve, a set-screw by which said extension isheld in a more or less extended position, and a swiveled hook at theouter extremity of such extension.

2. The combination with the'car-crane, of parallel bars extending acrossthe car-door, horns or hooks on said bars facing in opposite direction,a brace pivoted to the cranearm in position to be held by the hooks, andmeans for swinging the crane inward when not held by the brace and hook.

3. The combination with the crane-arm, of the clamping-hooks, and abag-support consisting of two substantially horizontal bars and endchains connecting said bars.

4. The combination with the car-crane, means for holding the sameextended or swung out from the car,-and a spring bearing said arm towardthe car, of a pivoted track-crane having parallel bars at its upper end,and a bag-supporting frame extending between said parallel bars of thetrack-crane, in position to receive the front of the carcrane.

5. The combination with the track-post, of a sleeve swiveled thereon, abracket on the sleeve and an open-ended crib connected to said bracket,and a pivotally-supported frame having a net above said crib.

6. The combination with the track-post and open-ended crib, of a framecentrally pivoted near the top of said crib, a netting connected to saidframe, and means for holding either end of the net-frame depressed.

7. The combination with a revolving net suspended at the side of thetrack, of a carcrane having a hook for suspending the bagsupport, and asecond hook pivotally supported on said crane-arm and forming inconnection with the first a clamp, said second hook having a projectinglever-arm to engage said net.

8. The track-crane having parallel horizontal bars, combined with aframe-like bagsupport having a projection which will lie above and notpass between the said horizontal bars.

9. The combination with the track-crane and its suspended bag-support,and the crib on said crane, of a brace extending from the crib to thebag-support, to hold the same from twisting.

10. The combination with the track-crane and bag-support, of a chain netunder the bag-support, and the car-crane arranged to project anadvancing bag under the chain net, and thereby lift or start the bag onthe track-crane.

11. The combination with a supportingcrane, of a bag-support consistingof upper and lower bars, and flexible sides connecting the same.

12. The combination, ina mail-bag catcher, of a car-crane having abracket thereon with perforated lugs projecting from the bracket, acrane-arm with a T-shaped sleeve with its cross-arm resting between saidlugs, a pivotpin passing through said lugs and cross-arm as described, acoiled spring surrounding the cross-arm with its ends bearing on thebracket, and its central portion bearing on the crane-arm to swing thesame inward.

13. The combination with acar-door, of bars extending across thedoorway, brackets on the car near each end of said bars, a cranearm andmeans for pivoting the same to either bracket, and a brace extendingfrom the crane-arm between the bars across the doorway. V

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MONTRAVILL D. CUMMINGS.

Witnesses:

JOHN F. FERGUS, BEssE U. CARDER.

